Story Ten: Meant To Be
by SpelCastrMax
Summary: Mozenrath has the friend of Aladdin's children trapped in the Netherworld.


STORY TEN: Meant To Be  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em and you know it.  
  
AUTHOR's NOTE: I had to do at least one story about sleep or dreams. It's kind of an annoying habit of mine. I don't think I've ever written a story that didn't have a character experiencing a weird dream or being caught in an unusual sleep. Someday, I will probably stop using this plot device....but today is not someday.  
  
Story 9: Celeste falls under a sleeping spell caused by the Black Sand. Meanwhile, Aladdin wonders of the whereabouts of the sand's master, the reportedly dead Mozenrath.  
  
This is where the story gets a little sad, but it will pick up again soon. No worries. Just keep reading. THANK YOU!!!!  
  
ONE OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES: "WHAT IS MEANT TO BE IS MEANT TO BE, AND A BOY AND HIS FRIENDS ARE MEANT TO BE HEROES." --FASHIR (the blind guy) from the episode "THE SANDS OF FATE"  
  
Celeste opened her eyes. She was in her room, but everything was different. It was all cloaked in gray. A little round man in a jeweled turban was sitting in the corner.  
  
"Wonderful," he laughed, "You've woken up!" He had a jolly smile hidden in a thick, white beard. "Don't be scared, dearest. I'm Jasmine's father."  
  
Celeste blinked at him several times. "Am I dead?" she asked as she edged to one corner of her bed.  
  
"Good heavens, no," the Sultan proclaimed, "I believe you are under a spell."  
  
Relaxing, the girl whined, "Why do all the nasty spells happen to me? Mira gets the truth spell and the butterfly curse, which did leave her craving nectar for a week, but still! She never woke up and found herself holding a conversation with a dead guy whose toys we play with every Saturday...no offense, your majesty."  
  
He waved a hand in the air. "No need for formalities. We're practically family."  
  
"We are?" Celeste questioned, thinking the man had lost his mind at some point before he had died.  
  
"You are going to marry my grandson, aren't you." It wasn't a question.  
  
The girl nearly choked while she tried to hide her blushing face. "What?! Kal...m...marry? No...Kal and I aren't...well, he did k..kiss me once, but that was just...No!"  
  
The sultan just laughed once more. He took Celeste's hand and they went to spy. He took her directly through the door! He didn't even open it first, just waltzed in and out of the wood as if it wasn't even there. In a little windowless storage closet, Kalil, Almira, Iago, and Abu were all fussing over the girl's sleeping form.  
  
"This is weirder than usual," she commented.  
  
Setting a kindly hand on her shoulder, Sultan said, "I'll be back; I'm supposed to meet my wife (*yes, the mysterious Jasmine's mother who we've never even seen a picture of and won't actually appear in this fic either, sorry*) Meanwhile, why don't you stay and here see what everyone has to say about you. One of the advantages of being in the Netherworld. Have fun."  
  
As the man exited, Celeste scoffed, "'Have fun' he says. He's obviously never found the dangers of eavesdropping."  
  
Mira leaned back against a wall of the room. "What are we going to do, Kal?"  
  
"There isn't anything we can do until Mother and Father come back," he replied.  
  
"Father left you here so you could come up with your own plan." Kal's sister grew a wicked smile. "Why don't you kiss her? It worked the last time she was under a spell."  
  
Kal glowered. "Do you have to bring that up all the time?"  
  
"Of course I do," Mira teased, "You're reaction is nothing compared with Celeste, though! She actually turns bright red and tries to hide her face. If you ask her what she remembers about it all, she says, 'not much' and turns even redder."  
  
Celeste glared. "Note to self. Never tell my best friend a secret ever again!"  
  
"Friends can be a real pain, can't they," a voice responded. It had echoed through the palace and only she had noticed.  
  
Celeste jumped. "Who said that?"  
  
She left the little room and followed the sound of a man's deep chuckle. At last, in the throne room a lean man with jet black hair under a blue turban sat straight and tall. His hands were concealed in his cloak. From far away, Celeste almost thought it was Aladdin sitting there. However, this man had a thin, pale face. He dressed completely in blue, black, and gold. His neck was covered by gray binding.  
  
The thick lips parted to form a cruel smile. "Hello Celeste."  
  
Backing away out of reaction, the girl swallowed a gasp. "I know you from someplace...." she thought aloud.  
  
"You mean you can't remember?" he replied, "I'm hurt. I used to be your only friend."  
  
"I seriously doubt that," she stated in a whisper.  
  
He shook his head. "Most people don't remember their imaginary friends, but trust me. We used to do everything together."  
  
Feeling her courage rise, Celeste argued, "I thought I was in the world of the dead, not the world of psychos. I never had any imaginary friends and even if I did, they wouldn't be a frightening grown man."  
  
Her "imaginary friend" lost his smile. "I come here to help you and you talk to me like this!"  
  
"Help me? How could you possibly help me?" Celeste couldn't resist the excited feeling fluttering within her. "Are you going to take me back to Agrabah...I mean, the real world Agrabah?"  
  
An eel-like creature flew out from behind the man. The man said to his familiar, "Look Xerxes, she's getting her hopes up." His patronizing tone changed to a growl when he turned back at Celeste, "Don't count on seeing Agrahah again."  
  
Celeste fell back against a pillar in the room and tugged nervously on her blue vest. Her eyes scanned for the nearest exit and noticed a creature float through one wall.  
  
The "imaginary friend" on the throne glanced at this hunched over monster of a man. "Go away, Aghoul!" he snapped.  
  
"Mozenrath, are you and Celeste having a party and forgot to invite me?" Aghoul questioned.  
  
As the two argued, Celeste slipped out of the room. "Sultan! Help!" she cried out. The little man was searching for her also, standing outside the closet where he had left her. "Sultan, there are these men who know me for some reason. What do they want me for?  
  
"Oh dear," Sultan replied, glancing in the direction of the throne room, "Well, Kal fell asleep so I'll distract them while you talk to him."  
  
"Talk to him? How?"  
  
"In his dreams. Another advantage to being dead." The sultan gave her a loving pat on the cheek and left her to her own devices.  
  
*****"Rabbit gets plunked; Rabbit sees stars"**********  
  
Kal didn't mean to drift off. He couldn't help it. It was boring being stuck in that room and it had been a long day. However, his exhaustion had produced a funny dream. He was battling a two foot tall monster, which shrunk down to the size of a rabbit when Kal drew his sword. As the prince began to prance around foolishly at his victory, Celeste entered the scene.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked trying not to laugh.  
  
Kal stopped his dance to stared at her, embarrassed. "Am I dreaming?" he asked hopefully.  
  
She nodded yes. Not sure how long he would be asleep for, Celeste rushed through her words. "Kal, I need your help. I'm trapped in the Netherworld and there's some man after me."  
  
"A man? Who?" Kal leaned against his sword, which turned into a fence post. This was a dream, after all.  
  
"Someone called him Mozenrath," Celeste replied glancing around nervously, "Your grandfather didn't tell me how long I can stay in your dream, so I'm trying to tell you all this quickly so pay attention."  
  
Kalil took her by the arm. "Calm down. This is my dream, right. I won't let anyone hurt you."  
  
Celeste hugged him. She wasn't entirely sure why she did it. It was like a reaction to a feeling she'd had. The feeling was telling her that she wasn't going to see Kal again for a while. "I don't want to go back," she whined.  
  
"Back?" Kal gently pushed her off in order to demand an explanation.  
  
"Yes, back," Mozenrath snarled. He had also entered Kal's dream. "My, you look very much like your father. I can already tell I'm going to hate you."  
  
Taking Celeste by the hand, Kal dashed past the sorcerer. In her panic, the girl actually pulled her friend out of his dream and into the Netherworld. She wasn't sure how she had done it, but with them make in the gray palace they'd have less of advantage The two found a hiding place amongst the spells and potions of Jafar's lair. Kal was amused by the way they stepped directly through the secret entrance without having to open it first.  
  
"What now?" the girl panicked as she tried to rifle through the scrolls. However, her hands went through each paper.  
  
Kalil scowled. "I don't know! I'm not my father!"  
  
Celeste picked up her head, surprised by his outburst. "No one expects you to be. You push yourself too hard, you know that."  
  
"I'm meant to be a hero, Celeste. Mira and I were raised that way. But I can't even control my own dreams."  
  
The girl blinked at him once or twice. "A hero...meaning what? Stop the bad guy, save the world, get the girl, and live happily ever after? It isn't always meant to be exactly like that, I'm sure."  
  
Kal glanced at his shirt then at his friend. "But I want it to be that way."  
  
The two teens both froze when they heard the secret entrance blown apart. A cloud of debris came down the stairs, followed by Mozenrath and Xerxes. The long cape whipped around him as if it were alive and his skinless arm was revealed.  
  
Kal made sure his eyes remained glued on the man. "Did my father do that?" he asked about the bleached bones that moved even without muscles.  
  
Mozenrath's hand made a rattling noise as it balled into a fist. "Your father took my powers and my life," he snarled, "But there is one thing he did not take from me."  
  
Crossing her arms over her chest in hopes of appearing brave, Celeste responded crossly, "And I suppose you're going to tell us what that one thing is whether we ask or not."  
  
When Mozenrath gave a full smile, the two knew it was time to really worry. The growl of his anger still deep in his throat, he told them, "Aladdin can't stop my ability to regain power."  
  
As if the words were a signal, the creature Xerxes swooped down at Kal and did a figure eight around the boy's wrists. The cold eel's body had tied his hands together and when Kal fought Xerxes would bite him. Despite that it was only a dream for the prince, he could feel every bite sink into his skin.  
  
Celeste tried to grab Xerxes by the tail. I. M. Aghoul floated through a wall and snatched her up before she could pull the monster off Kal's wrists. Mozenrath's skeletal hand performed a swift motion and the black sands crept into the room, slinking across the floor.  
  
The dark substance rose into the air like a wave and formed a portal. It all went by in a matter of seconds. There was a green light, Mozenrath's laugh, Xerxes's hiss, Aghoul's gleeful rant, and then a scream from Celeste before she was thrown into the portal.  
  
It was then that Kalil woke up.  
__________________  
Ooooo, a cliffhanger. Sorry about that folks.  
WATCH FOR STORY 11: Nothing Holds  
Aladdin, Jasmine, Kal, Mira, and the others look for answers in their time while Celeste is lost in the future.  
GOOD LUCK AND A COOKIE to those of you who have finals coming up!!! 


End file.
